The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-11-30
Randolph's Rebuke Of Impiety.

as he called himself, and liked to be called,
was early impressed with religious truth by
a faithful Christian mother, Of whom he
himself tells u.s. ''that at one time he might
have become French inf1del but for the
memory of his mothers hand upon his head,
as he knelt at her side, to repeat after her
the Lords Prayer" He was always out
spoken in favor Of religion. and especially
toward the later years Of his life, as illustra-
tions of which the following, among other
anecdotes, are related:
One day he was at dinner party in Vlr-
ginia, given to young army officer. The
latter, at the table, was giving glowing &C.
count of the churches in Mexico one Of the
finest of which he said had been turned into
barracks by the United States troops as they
entered Mexico under General Scott. When
one Of the ladies present exclaimed, why,
CAPTAIN, were you not afraid to do itq' the
boastful if not sneering tone, was: "Oh, no;
for my part have become so used to such
things that could take my dinner on the
altar itself as comfortably as anywhere. ]"
''And so would hog, sir" said Randolph,
looking sharply at the officer, "while in the
silence that followed the terrible rebuke the
very air Of the room seemed to tingle, as the
nerves of the guests did" The officer felt the
rebuke and was silent, as well he might be.
Soon after Randolph's recovery from Sc
we're sickness in 1916, he was dining aT tne
and mixed company. "Among them," to
use his own words, "was hoary-headed de-
bauchee, whose vices had completely shat
tered his constitution, and whose days seemed
to be numbered. And yet," said Randolph,
''he had the audacity to call in question the
existence of the Deity, presuming, suppose,
that there were many kindred spirits there.
1 happened to sit directly opposite to him,
and / felt so disgusted with bis impiety that
YOU might better have been silent on
that subject for judging from appear
ances, you, in short time, will have ocular
proof Of the power of that God whose exist
encS you now so boldly question. You can
afford to wait, sir, the few remaining days
Of your life and in common courtesy you
should not shock the feelings Of others by the
exhibition of your blasphemy He turned
pale with anger" adds Randolph, land even
trembled; but made no reloinder, and the
company soon separated. We met more than
once subsequently, but never afterward re-
newed our acquaintance, and whether his
courage to brave death continued or not, l
do not know"
The incident reminds one Of Shelly, the
poet, who, amid the glorious scenery of the
Alps, and surrounded there by the sublime
manifestations of Gods power, had the hardi-
hood to avow and record his atheism by
writing against his name in the register kept
for travellers, IAN Atheist" Another traV-
eler who followed, shocked and indignant at
the inscription, wrote beneath il, "lf an
And so Gods Word declares, that ut Is
the fool who says in his heart, there is no
God.n He says it in his heart-that is,
expresses his wish that there were no God,
not in his head, in his sober judgment, for
he knows better; he knows there is God,
and doubtless has many fear and fore
boding when thinking of the hour when
he must stand before Him in Judgment:
We are told of Wilmot, the infidel, that
when he was dying, Re laid his trembling
hand on the Bible, ard said solemnly, and
with unwonted energy: "The only obJec-
tion to this Book is a bad life." And if this
be true of the infidel who rejects revelation,
much more is it of the atheist, who denies
the existence of a God, the evidence Of whose
power and wisdom and goodness IS seen IN
all his works-[Rev. Tyson Ed wards IN
N. Y. Observer.
Tho New York Graphic says: 90 The
growth Of the saloon power is the heaviest
curse that aflicts this country, morally,
socially and politically. We use the words
deliberately. Once on time it was said
that money was the root of all evil. Today
in the United States, the rum traffic is the
source Of three-f -fourths, perhaps more, of the
prevalent misery. This is not the ex-
aeeeration of any prohibitionist ia
natic-it is solemn fact. Not merely
the wealth, but the manhood and morals
also of the community, especially in
large cities, are being steadily sapped by the
vampire Of the saloon. Any intelligent man
who walks through our popular streets ut
night or spends an hour in one of our police
courts next morning, must bid fervid God
speed to the crusade against the saloon"
A Tennessee correspondent OF the New
York Obs,rusr, writing of the recent prohl,,
bition in that State, says: 1T IS estimated
tha at over half, a million Of dollars was sent
into the State, with numberless barrels OF
fro whisky, to be used for the purpose OF
defeat
Among the inscriptions at the base OF the
drinking fountain at Stratford- on Avon, pre-
sentel by George w. Childs, Of Philadelphia,
in honor of the Queens Jubilee, is the follow
inc from Shakespeare Honest water,
which ne'er left man in the mire. e.'-1tmon NJ
Athens, act j., scene IL.
A prominent liquor dealer in Tennessee
said after the recent election: "One more
such victory as this, and the profits. will az
be knocked out Of the whisky business III
TenneaSeen